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Arctic Landforms Explorer

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Arctic Landforms Explorer

You are a junior science explorer travelling through the Canadian Arctic. Use the field notes to identify landforms and explain how cold, ice, and water shape them. Complete each task; write in full sentences when asked.

Field notes: Land, ice, and water

The Canadian Arctic includes many islands, such as Baffin Island and Ellesmere Island. Much of the region is tundra: a cold, mostly treeless landscape where low plants grow during the short summer. In some places, the ground beneath the surface stays frozen for at least two years, which can limit how deeply roots grow. In some places, glaciers slowly flow over land. They can scrape and carry rock, carve valleys, and leave piles of rock and soil called moraines. When a piece of glacier ice breaks off and floats in the sea, it is an iceberg. Icebergs are mostly underwater, and they drift as winds and ocean currents move them.

1.A field note describes ground that stays frozen for at least two years. What is this called?

Permafrost
Moraines
Tundra
An iceberg

2.Which description best explains how a glacier can change the land?

It scrapes and carries rock as it slowly flows.
It grows leaves that break apart the ground.
It makes the ocean currents stop.
It turns all tundra into forest.

3.Select the two landforms or features that glaciers can create or leave behind.

A valley carved by ice
A moraine made of rock and soil
A coral reef
A sand dune made by desert winds

4.Match each term to its description. Write the correct letter beside each number. A. tundra B. glacier C. iceberg D. island 1. A large body of ice that slowly flows over land 2. Land surrounded by water 3. A floating piece of ice broken from a glacier 4. A cold, mostly treeless landscape with low plants

A. tundra
B. glacier
C. iceberg
D. island

A large body of ice that slowly flows over land
Land surrounded by water
A floating piece of ice broken from a glacier
A cold, mostly treeless landscape with low plants

5.A piece of glacier ice breaks off and floats into the sea. What landform or feature has formed? Explain how it began.

6.Why might tundra plants have shallow roots where the ground beneath the surface stays frozen for at least two years? Use the field notes to explain.

7.Imagine you find a ridge of rocks and soil beside a glacier. What might have left it there, and what is the ridge called?

8.True or false: Baffin Island and Ellesmere Island are examples of Canadian Arctic islands.

TrueFalse

9.Explorer challenge: Choose one—tundra, glacier, iceberg, or island. Describe one way the Arctic environment affects it. Include a cause-and-effect link (for example, “Because…, …”).

Draw one Arctic landform or feature from the field notes. Add a label and an arrow showing one feature or effect of the environment, such as frozen ground beneath tundra or a glacier carrying rock.